Let me just say that I am a huge fan of Krishnamacharya's. Huge. Because his whole M.O. was always to give each student exactly what he or she needed at that time in his or her life. He was both BKS Iyengar and Pattabhi Jois' teacher, but his original teachings were very different than what those guys wound up spreading (Iyengar yoga and Astanga) because he taught individuality of practice, as opposed to a set series of poses or rules for all. Krishnamacharya prescribed something different for everyone: an energetic asana practice for the young, a meditative practice for the older, a strength-building practice for the weak. He taught yoga as a way of healing the body, and is, in many ways, the big daddy-o of Western yoga.

If you want to know more about him, visit the Healing Foundation in San Francisco, which is the only local yoga school solely dedicated to Krishnamacharya and his son, TKV Desikachar. Now is the perfect time because the foundation just moved into a beautiful new home in the Marina, at 3620 Buchanan Street (between Bay Street and Northpoint), and is having an open house with food and chanting this Thursday evening, May 29, from 6-9pm.

I'll be out of town this Thursday but I hope someone out there will check out the open house and report back. I am curious to see the new center, which is a sweet little converted greenhouse.

And if you are sitting there, scratching your head and saying Krishna-who?, have a look at The Heart of Yoga, one of my all-time favorite yoga books. It tells all about Krishnamacharya, and has some awesome photos of the master hanging out in headstands well into his golden years.